Chapter 106: Not Enough
I don’t think I like what I’m digging up.
Anna sighed as she stepped out of the car, offering a brief nod to the driver who held the door open for her. Her meeting with Aunt Lillian had gone even better than anticipated, but despite the success, a heavy, unsettling weight coiled deep in her stomach, refusing to budge.
When she brought down both Susanne and Marienne, Anna had felt a fleeting sense of relief—strange, almost surreal. It was as though a cold, soaked blanket had finally been lifted from her shoulders, freeing her movements and letting her breathe a little easier.
But Aunt Lillian was different. She was tightly entangled with Anna’s father—her roots deeply knotted into the very foundation of his life. And the more of that life Anna uncovered, the more suffocating it became. It felt as though every revelation came with another thick, grimy layer of guilt and revulsion, wrapping around her like a shroud.
When I was confined to that hospital room, Anna thought bitterly, I kept wondering what I’d done to deserve so much suffering. I was a devoted wife. A kind and supportive daughter. A loyal sister-in-law, too. So what was my sin? What terrible mistake did I make to warrant this?
She entered the living room in silence and made her way to the minibar tucked behind the glass panel near the terrace doors. Her fingers moved on instinct, selecting a bottle and pouring herself a generous glass of wine.
Maybe the old saying is true—no good deed goes unpunished. And maybe... maybe I really am the only one to blame.
Cradling the glass in her hand, she sank into the plush armchair on the terrace, one of the ones the maids had placed there for her to lounge in on hot days when the garden became too stifling.
It was a bitter pill to swallow, but she knew it in her bones—she had no one to hold accountable for her pain but herself. She had been the one who trailed after Robert like a desperate, half-starved animal, blindly following his every step, hungry for scraps of affection.
She was the one who closed her eyes to his wrongdoings and didn’t want to accept his flaws and mistakes.
She was the one who promised her father that she would be happy with Robert.